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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23117182">a good lesson (in love)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/coffeeren/pseuds/coffeeren'>coffeeren</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Persona 5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Akechi Goro Attends Shujin Academy, Alternate Universe - No Metaverse (Persona 5), Amusement Parks, First Dates, Fluff, High School, M/M, is it still a date if only one of you is aware, ren amamiya acing his exams to score a date? more likely than you think</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 16:33:37</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,023</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23117182</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/coffeeren/pseuds/coffeeren</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>"What, exactly, are we doing all the way in Maihama, Amamiya-kun?"</p>
<p>"You said you'd give me a reward if I placed top of my class in the mid-terms," he flashes a grin at Goro, messy and purple from his own popsicle. "And I did."</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Akechi Goro/Amamiya Ren, Akechi Goro/Kurusu Akira, Akechi Goro/Persona 5 Protagonist</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>247</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>a good lesson (in love)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>i am incapable of not naming my stuff after songs</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Here," Amamiya says, waving a popsicle in his face. Goro, too smart to refuse free food, accepts it with a polite thank you. It <em>is</em> unbearably warm for a spring day.</p>
<p>"What, exactly, are we doing all the way in Maihama, Amamiya-kun?"</p>
<p>"You said you'd give me a reward if I placed top of my class in the mid-terms," he flashes a grin at Goro, messy and purple from his own popsicle. "And I did."</p>
<p>Goro sighs. "Yes, I know <em>that</em>. But you chose-" he takes in their surroundings. "To spend the entirety of your Sunday with me at a theme park?"</p>
<p>"Yeah," Amamiya shrugs, like it's obvious. "It's fun."</p>
<p>Well, now, Goro wouldn't know, would he? He's never been to one before. "Surely you could have brought any of your friends?" Goro had honestly been expecting to be doing Amamiya's homework for a week or two. Of all things he had in fact anticipated, <em>I have an extra ticket to Destinyland</em> hadn't even been on the list. He takes a chunk off his popsicle. It tastes very much like purple.</p>
<p>"I could," Amamiya says, looking around pensively. "But I wanted to come with you."</p>
<p>Goro scoffs. If Amamiya expects to get a few laughs at his expense today he will be sorely disappointed. Enjoying a day at a theme park like a normal teenager can't be <em>that</em> hard.</p>
<p>"Oh, look!" Amamiya exclaims, unfazed by his reaction. "An arcade!"</p>
<p>He's already stalking towards it, tugging on Goro's sleeve. "There's a perfectly good arcade in Shibuya!" Amamiya does not seem to hear him.</p>
<p>Despite his protests, Goro follows him into the flashy building- it sticks out like a sore thumb among the more cheerful-looking attractions that surround it. As expected, it's full of children, but Amamiya, easily the most stubborn person Goro has ever met in his life, is not deterred. Goro is practically bullied into the line for the shooting games. By the time he's lost count of how many pixelated zombies he's shot down and a group of grouchy pre-teens is giving them the stink eye for hogging the game, he's already resigned himself to his fate and what the future holds for him today. Amamiya did win their deal fairly.</p>
<p>It's even a little fun, if Goro is to be completely honest. Which he's not going to.</p>
<p>"Student Council vice-president Akechi Goro," Amamiya pipes up when their current undead-shooting round is finished, almost on cue. Goro can hear amusement in every word. "He actually knows how to have fun!"</p>
<p>So he's let his guard down. That's fine, it's not like anyone at school will believe Amamiya anyway. Come tomorrow, he can forget all about this.</p>
<p>Since Goro owes him his time of day but not his enthusiasm, he shoves the fake gun back into its holster forcefully, looking away so Amamiya won't see the ghost of a traitorous smile on his face, and marches to the arcade exit.</p>
<p>What is this? Amamiya sounds like he's just honestly, genuinely having fun, but he's <em>always</em> fun. Everyone at school loves him, even some of the Student Council, to Goro's perpetual dismay. Goro, on the other hand, has never been fun. It's- kind of nice, to know he has it in him. That Amamiya is the one who brought it out is purely inconsequential.</p>
<p>"Okay, your pick now," Amamiya says, catching up to him and shielding his eyes from the glare of the sun. "You can choose whatever."</p>
<p>"Uh," Goro says intelligently.</p>
<p>"Well, whatever we don't have to pay extra for," Amamiya corrects, fishing the tourist guide leaflet from his backpack and handing it to Goro.</p>
<p>His eyes zero in on the haunted house. It hardly seems fitting for a warm early afternoon in June, but then, neither does a dark, crowded arcade. Besides, he doesn't have to make this easy. He doesn't have to be predictable.</p>
<p>Goro points at the haunted house on the map. "That one."</p>
<p>Amamiya, damn him, steps closer to peer over his shoulder. "Whoa, senpai," he whistles through his teeth. It tickles Goro's ear. "Aren't you full of surprises?"</p>
<p><em>Damn</em> him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>"I'm starving," Amamiya declares once they step back out. He's been awfully talkative all day, unaware or simply unbothered by Goro's unwillingness to indulge in smalltalk. "Are you hungry?"</p>
<p>"A little," Goro admits. Amamiya didn't seem at all scared in there. Not even a little bit. Goro, who's always been a horror fan, wishes desperately that he hadn't unwittingly given himself that knowledge.</p>
<p>"Come on," Amamiya says, grabbing Goro's wrist. The skin to skin contact is foreign, and he nearly jumps in surprise. "I'll treat you."</p>
<p>"Ah, no, Amamiya-"</p>
<p>"You can call me Ren," Ren interrupts, turning back to him with a smile. "And I dragged you all the way here, it's only fair."</p>
<p>"We had a deal!"</p>
<p>"So?" It's hopeless. Goro can't logically argue with someone who refuses to make any sense.</p>
<p>Fingertips brush his palm when Ren lets him go, and Goro swallows a terribly embarrassing yelp. With any luck, Ren is really as oblivious and carefree as he seems and won't notice what he's doing to Goro right now. Not that he's doing much of anything. At all.</p>
<p>He's lead to a temporary Big Bang Burger stand, because of course he is. As most of his meals consist of frozen dinners, instant noodles or protein bars, Goro doesn't protest. Not having any parents around to scold you for not eating right sucks, sometimes.</p>
<p>"Are you having fun?" Ren asks, stealing one of Goro's onion rings.</p>
<p>Goro raises an eyebrow at him. "This is <em>your</em> reward, Amamiya."</p>
<p>"Ren."</p>
<p>"Ren," Goro corrects. Right.</p>
<p>"And I <em>want</em> you to have fun."</p>
<p>"Why?" Goro asks, bewildered. "I thought you hated me." </p>
<p>Ren frowns. "I've never hated you," he says. Goro wants to believe him. It's honestly terrifying. "I'm- sorry that I've made you think that."</p>
<p>"It's fine," Goro says. He doesn't particularly want to have this conversation.</p>
<p>"It's true," Ren insists, but when Goro stays silent, he doesn't push the issue any further.</p>
<p>They finish their meal in heavy silence, then, and Goro wishes he was at home, quiet and alone. Alone he wouldn't have to think about what Amamiya wants out of him today, if he's just having a little fun out of seeing his prim and proper Student Council vice-president so out of his element or if he's looking to embarrass Goro somehow. Either option is equally horrible, he thinks.</p>
<p>"Would you like a milkshake?" Ren asks, out of the blue and uncertain, slurping his drink.</p>
<p>"Ah. I'm- a little full." It's not precisely true. Goro is not sure why he's lying.</p>
<p>"We can share. And check out the aquarium next," Ren pushes. "If you want."</p>
<p>"Oh," Goro answers, eloquent. His limited knowledge of socializing with people his own age is telling him this day is seeming more and more like a- date? <em>It's just a milkshake, </em>he scolds himself. Ren Amamiya could have anyone he wanted. He wouldn't choose Goro, of all people. "Uh, sure."</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Goro can't barely believe this day is finally coming to an end. He's even more scandalized by how much that saddens him.</p>
<p>Ren is nowhere to be seen. How long can a teenage boy take in the restroom anyway? Goro's almost getting worried-</p>
<p>"Senpai?" Ren's voice behind him startles his mind back to reality. Maybe he <em>is </em>a mind-reader after all.</p>
<p>Goro whirls around, only to be met with Ren's stupid sunshine smile, an oversized teddy bear perched on one arm and- and a bright red box on the other.</p>
<p>He's opens his mouth to ask what the hell is going on when Ren cuts him off. "Happy birthday," he says, and- oh. </p>
<p>"How- why-" Goro sputters, unsure of what he wants to ask. God, his face must be a ridiculous shade of red by now.</p>
<p>"Makoto-senpai told me," Ren explains, looking down sheepishly.  Goro's useless arms still hang limply at his sides, gift box in Ren's extended hand waiting for him. "You're always by yourself at school, and- and I know you live alone too, so I thought-"</p>
<p>Goro raises a hand to stop him mid-rant and covers his own mouth with the other. This can't possibly be happening. He's at once overwhelmed and embarrassed and already hopelessly enamoured with the very idea of this weird boy standing before him, who would so out of his way for him like this.</p>
<p>"Akechi-senpai? Are you okay?"</p>
<p>"Why are you being nice to me?" Goro asks abruptly, staring very pointedly at Ren's chest instead of his face. No one- no one has ever done anything like this for him before. He has certainly never given his troublemaker of a junior any reason to be the first.</p>
<p>"Ah," Ren says. "You see, I might have a bit of an- ulterior motive, if you will."</p>
<p>Goro tenses in apprehension instantly, but he doesn't think anything could ever have prepared him for the next words that come out of Ren's mouth.</p>
<p>"Will you go out with me, Akechi-senpai?"</p>
<p>Huh?</p>
<p>"You- you're doing this all backwards!" Goro protests, instead of actually answering his question.</p>
<p>"It's okay if you don't want to," Ren says, softer and more earnest now than he's been the whole day. His cheeks are flushed, but he's staring Goro in the eyes defiantly. He's- cute.</p>
<p>"I-" Goro bites into his bottom lip for an excruciating moment. The words gather in his throat in a suffocating lump, and Goro struggles to spit them out before he chokes. "I do," he says to Ren's boots. <em>How</em> is he wearing boots in this heat?</p>
<p>"Wait, really?"</p>
<p>"You're not-" A terrifying thought occurs to him then. "This isn't a joke, is it?"</p>
<p>"Wh-" Ren stutters, brows drawn in. Offended? "Of course not, senpai."</p>
<p>"Goro."</p>
<p>"Hm?"</p>
<p>"If- if we're going to do this," <em>if we're going to </em>date<em>.</em> "Call me Goro."</p>
<p>"Goro," Ren says his name, like he's tasting it. "Goro, look at me."</p>
<p>With no small effort on his part, he lifts his gaze to Ren's face, and oh god when did he get so <em>close</em>-</p>
<p>He has to physically resist the urge to jerk away when Ren reaches for him, before he realizes he's just holding out the gift box again.</p>
<p>"Open it," he says, eyes shining behind his smudged glasses.<br/>
Goro does. Inside he finds an official Featherman-R t-shirt and a matching keychain. He must have bought this in advance. It must have been sitting in his backpack all day. Ren had thought about this. Ren had thought about <em>him.</em> Goro feels his face reddening even more, if it's even possible. "Nijima again?" he asks helplessly.</p>
<p>Ren shakes his head and laughs. "I saw your lockscreen, last time you were lecturing me for cutting class."</p>
<p>His <em>lockscreen</em>- "Why?" Goro asks up to a god he doesn't really believe in. If embarrassment alone could kill- </p>
<p>"I'm not making fun of you," Ren says, sincere even though he's still chuckling. He looks down before continuing. "I- I thought it was cute."</p>
<p>Actually, maybe embarrassment <em>can</em> kill, and Goro just didn't get the memo. Still- "Thank you... Ren." Goro can't really bring himself to face the other boy, but he tries anyway. "I- really like this." He's actually planning on putting this t-shirt on as soon as he gets home, but Ren doesn't need to know that much.</p>
<p>"I'm glad."</p>
<p>Ren smiles at him, then, brighter than the unforgiving sun behind him, and, well. His face is already really close, and he looks so pretty like this, no one can reasonably blame Goro for leaning forward and closing the distance between their lips. They're in a very public spot. Goro doesn't particularly care.</p>
<p>Neither does Ren, by the way he cradles Goro's cheek in his hand, now free of too-colorful gift boxes. His hand is warm and clammy and not at all soft. Goro, nonsensically, wants to hold it.</p>
<p>When they part, Ren is still smiling. "Come on," he says, adjusting the stuffed bear in his hold. "We if we hurry, we can still go on the ferris wheel."</p>
<p>Now, when he offers his hand, Goro takes it.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>good things for goro akechi???? yes</p></blockquote></div></div>
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